Page:Oriental Stories Volume 02 Number 01 (Winter 1932).djvu/42



HE peculiar genius of Tsang Ah-bou, a detective of the Shanghai Municipal Police, lay in his uncanny ability in playing the rôles which his calling demanded. It is a truism that all Chinese are born actors, but Tsang was the actor as the Occidental thinks of him. Once he had put on the habiliments of a character he was that character.

He was of the average height of the Shanghai Chinese—who are not tall—and in appearance, fat. The latter description, if unqualified, would do Tsang a grave injustice. His loosely fitting gray serge gown concealed muscles trained in jiu-jitsu and of an iron-like hardness. He wore thick, myopic-lensed spectacles and suffered a considerable disability when